Event WPR11FA490

Factual narrative

***This report was modified on March 7, 2016. Please see the docket for this accident to view the original report.*** On March 11, 2011, about 0900 mountain standard time, an experimental amateur-built Radford RV-6, N650RV, collided with the ground while maneuvering in the vicinity of the South Rim Recreation area, Grand Canyon, Arizona. The commercial pilot, the sole occupant of the airplane, was fatally injured. The airplane was registered to the pilot, and operated under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the flight. The flight originated from Tusayan, Arizona, about 0820, and no flight plan was filed. There was no report of a sustained emergency locator transmitter (ELT) signal. According to the Glendale, Arizona, Police Department, the pilot was involved in an argument with his wife on the day before the accident. On the morning of March 11, 2011, he was involved in a telephone conversation with an individual that the police report referred to as his girlfriend. During that phone conversation, the pilot stated that he was going to kill himself. About 0615 that morning, the pilot was seen at the Glendale Airport, and when Glendale Tower began operation at 0630, the pilot had already departed. After departure, he flew to Tusayan, Arizona, where he landed and took on 10 gallons of 100LL aviation fuel, prior to departing there at 0820. According to recorded radar tracking data, it appears that the pilot turned off his transponder about one minute after takeoff, as all radar data after 0821 was primary data with no altitude information. The primary track continued to the northwest for about nine minutes, with the last positive radar hit being at 36 degrees, 10.22 minutes North by 122 degrees, 16.36 minutes West. The wreckage was not immediately located and was classified as missing until May 21, 2015, when hikers found the wreckage of N650RV near the South Rim Recreation Area. The pilot's remains were located in the wreckage. According to the postmortem report, the pilot's cause of death was multiple blunt force injuries with the manner of death being suicide. Examination of the recovered airframe and engine was conducted on July 15, 2015, at the facilities of Air Transport, Phoenix, Arizona. The examination revealed extensive impact damage, fragmentation, and deformation throughout the airframe and engine assembly. The fuselage, wing assembly, engine, and associated instrumentation were crushed aft, and extensive fragmentation was noted. The examination revealed no evidence of preimpact mechanical malfunction or failure that would have precluded normal operations, and the impact signatures were consistent with deliberate controlled flight into terrain. Additional wreckage examination information is contained in the NTSB public docket for this accident. Local law enforcement representatives reported that the pilot was involved in an argument with his wife the day before the accident. They further reported that early in the morning on the day of the accident, the pilot told an individual, referred to by the police as his girlfriend, that he was going to kill himself. About 0615, the pilot was seen at the airport where the airplane was based, and, by the time that the airport's air traffic control tower began operation at 0630, the pilot had already departed in the airplane. The pilot flew to another airport, landed, purchased 10 gallons of fuel, and departed about 0820. According to recorded radar track data, the airplane flew northwest for about 10 minutes before radar contact was lost. A search was conducted; however, the airplane was not immediately located and was classified as missing until May 21, 2015, when hikers found the wreckage. Postaccident examination of the wreckage revealed damage consistent with controlled flight into terrain. The pilot's remains were located in the wreckage. According to the autopsy report, the pilot's cause of death was multiple blunt force injuries with the manner of death being suicide.   Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

Hierarchical cause / factor breakdown from the FAA bulk avdata database. Each finding tagged C (Cause) or F (Factor).

• C Personnel issues-Miscellaneous-Intentional act-Suicide-Pilot - C